Sports fan. Connoisseur of good music (especially on vinyl). Consumer of the finest craft beers. Environmental activist. History geek. Dudeist Priest. Hunter S. Thompson junkie. And I write a little. Mostly though, I’m a dad. But I am unlike my dad. I am still the breadwinner, but laundry, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, hugging, crying, disciplining and nurturing are also part of my routine. I am a domestic machine…I am, like many dads of my generation, The Domestic Warrior.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Seeking Silence

As published in The County Times (countytimes.somd.com)

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.

This year our nation, while it was busy fracturing
itself along alarming political lines and redefining what is acceptable
behavior for a president, celebrated a special centennial: the 100th
anniversary of the National Park Service.

In 2009, national parks deservedly got the Ken Burns treatment
with the PBS documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”. It is worth a view or, if you caught it the
first time through, a re-visit, particularly considering the national parks are
one of the scant few politically transcendent issues left and we could use a
little togetherness.

John Muir, Sierra Club founder, early advocate of the
outdoor world and major contributor to the national parks and NPS, was a prominent
personality in Burns’ documentary. He
was, in many respects, the perfect person at the perfect time (the industrial
revolution) to remind us of whence we came – nature - and force an otherwise
frivolous and insatiable species to preserve some of nature’s greatest jewels
for future generations.

Muir had a psychological need for long escapes into
the wilderness and the peace, solitude and beauty of an undisturbed
landscape. Nature sustained him in an
increasingly developed world; it offered a retreat from the many trifling
aspects of daily life to a place where a clear mind and complete focus was
possible.

This quote from Muir’s book “The Mountains of
California” captures the healing powers of nature and the author’s addiction to
the wild: “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will
flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own
freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away
from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

Muir would likely be miserable if he lived in today’s
hyper-connected, overanalyzed and overstimulated world. Escaping takes more than a hike into the
woods now, it requires a conscious disconnection from the ever-present and
ever-accessible grid.

You can see the inner John Muir within NFL coaches and
players who struggle with the insatiable external demands of their profession. Television gigs. Radio bits.
Social media access. Post-game
interviews. Bloggers. Beat writers.
National press personalities.
Fans armed with smart phones at every pub and convenience store. The strain is enormous and it manifests
itself in the game to game, week to week, season to season inconsistencies that
are the nearly universal norm across the NFL landscape.

There’s one exception: the New England Patriots. Since 2001 (15 seasons), the Patriots have 13
playoff appearances and division titles, won four Super Bowls and have notched
at least 10 wins 14 times. In those 15
season, the entire roster, with the exception of QB Tom Brady, has been
flipped, two scandals have been navigated (Deflategate and Spygate), critical
injuries and suspensions have been brushed aside and assistant coaches and
front office gurus have come and gone.

And…they…keep…winning.

No NFL team has been more consistent, more resilient and displayed a
greater ability to block out the constant distractions, focus on the immediate
task and execute.

“We’re on to Cincinnati”: Patriots head coach Bill
Belichick repeated those words as the media pestered him with questions after a
41-14 meltdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. It seemed cliché – a defeated coach
effectively saying he had already dismissed the loss and moved on to the next
opponent. For most coaches and teams, it
would have been cliché. The line between
past, present and future isn’t that abrupt.
Not today. Not with all the
reminders and unwelcomed distractions.

But for the Patriots, it is – they went on to win the
Super Bowl that year. Why? No other team can throw an iron curtain
around their operation like the Patriots.
Problems are handled internally and external access is tightly
controlled. In short, any unnecessary
noise is cancelled; what’s left is a team laser-focused on performance.

It’s doubtful that Belichick pulls this off by taking
his team for long walks in the woods.
Regardless of the means, Patriot coaches and players, like Muir, have created
an insulated environment conducive to success.
That is no small accomplishment these days, as many of us can attest –
me included.